Colorado courts service-improvement program returning to Montezuma County

Thursday, July 19, 2018

CORTEZ, Colo. – People with business at the Montezuma Combined Court on July 25, 2018, will be asked to participate in an ongoing program designed to help ensure the Colorado Judicial Department is providing the best service possible to the public.

Throughout the day, court and probation employees at 865 North Park Street in Cortez will ask people exiting the building to fill out brief, anonymous survey forms asking about their experiences as jurors, parties to a case or recipients of other Judicial Department services. Survey forms will be available in English and Spanish.

In addition, attorneys, law enforcement officers and anyone else who does business with the courts is encouraged to participate.

Similar surveys have been conducted in the past in the 22nd Judicial District (Dolores and Montezuma counties), most recently in 2016. Since 2007, surveys have been conducted at least once in each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts.

The surveys measure public opinion about access to and fairness of the courts. Questions include whether people felt safe in the building, whether they could easily understand the forms they needed, and whether they felt their case was handled in a fair manner. Participants also are asked whether they felt the judicial officer listened to them and had all the necessary information before making a decision, and whether they felt they were treated with courtesy and given clear information about the next step in their case.

During Fiscal Year 2017, the District Courts in the 22nd Judicial District received 1,211 case filings, including 1,115 in the District Court in Cortez, while county courts in the district received 3,309 filings, including 3,047 in the Montezuma County Court.